Star Ella and the Tournament of Elements
by Ella Master of Imagination
Summary: When an everyday orphan that lives on the streets finds herself invited to compete in a competition for Elemental Masters, she instantly wonders what it is her powers apparently are. There's also the problem called she isn't supposed to bring anyone with her...and yet, where she goes, her best friend, and surrogate big sister, goes. What could go wrong?
1. Prologue

_**A/N: Hello! Second Story! Whoo-hoo! Um, yeah...this is were I do my overall disclaimer and introduce myself... um yeah but you probably already noticed my name up there next to the story title... and yeah. I don't own anything...any OCs you recognize from any of Skyla Talon's work is used with her permission. And um, yeah...this is just a rewrite of Tournament of Elements, nothing else. Sorry. So please continue and say hello to Star and Ella...two girls that don't get along, you would think.**_

_Ella_

Prologue: Ella Gets Invited... Star Finds The Whole Thing Funny.

I paused in front of the large store window that had several different TVs on display. All of them were on the exact same channel, showing Jay Walker hosting his game show with a bit more flare than I liked. Of course, me no like meant that Star loved it and wanted to compete. It's been three months since the White Ninja, Zane Julian, passed away and I was still questioning everyone's coping methods. The Red Ninja, Kai Smith, as appeared to have gone MIA, though his sister, Nya Smith aka Samurai X, probably knew what he was up to. Jay was obviously hosting a game show with a whole lot of flair, while his former best friend, the Black Ninja, aka Cole Brookstone, has disappeared into the mountains to become a woodcutter. I wasn't impressed with that. The only one that was still saving the day was Lloyd Garmadon, their rather young leaders.

_Can I please...it looks like fun!_

_No... you really need to learn to control yourself Star. That will just be drawing too much attention to us._

_Ah...come on Ells...you know that you want to._

_That is not my name Star and you know it!_ I pulled my grey hoodie over my head, hoping that no one noticed the silent conversation that was sort of having with myself. Not that anyone would notice me. I was rather, uh, average looking. Chin-length mouse-brown hair (that is a shade of brown that is soo dull and pale that it can almost pass of as a light grey), hooded gray eyes, and I typically wore a baggy sweater, and jeans with blown-out knees. My sneakers were plain looking, and held together by duck-tape. I stared at the TV a little longer, before turning and slipping away into the crowd. Star's silence told me all that I needed to know. She was respecting my love of anonymity and backing off. Either that or she was offended that I had snapped at her. I gritted my teeth together as I slipped into the back alleyway that by chance had the back entrance to a four star restaurant in there. It also happened to be where they took out the trash...including the wasted food from the different meals that were served on a minute by minute basis.

Walking over to the dumpster, I lifted the lid up and began to scourge through the options that were lying inside of it. _Ok... we've been over this before. If we get to the point we're digging through trash to find food, then I take over. Isn't that right Ella?_ I hated it when Star was right.

_I don't think this place does live performances..._ I feebly argued back, knowing that she had a point. Trash digging wasn't fun, and I did made a deal with her that she could be in control when things got to that. But I didn't feel comfortable with the idea of her singing for the audience in exchange for food here. I could just be paranoid though... or I was just letting what happened last time haunt me.

_He didn't do anything. You aren't the only one living on the streets here Ella. Trust your big sis._ I nearly laughed at that. Star wasn't my sister, though she considered herself my big sister. I never had the heart to correct her. Or point out the fact that we were both almost thirteen...I think. My earliest memories was of a house on fire in the middle of nowhere about ten years ago. I was way smaller back then and absolutely terrified. I probably would have curled up in the freezing rain and died there and then, if Star hadn't contacted me and ordered me to move. Since then she has helped me to stay alive in a rather cruel world.

I paused as I suddenly felt eyes watching me. Have I ever mentioned that I hate attention? Stiffening, I slowly stood up and turned to see a bunch of thugs watching my every move. Tensing, I dropped into a defensive martial arts position. _Star..._

_I see them. Don't do anything rash. The second they make the first move, climb up that fire escape onto the roof._

_Wait...do you mean the roof, roof...or …?_

_Of course I mean the roof Ells! What other option is there when someone says roof?_

I didn't say anything, shifting slightly so as to be closer to the fire escape that she had pointed out. One of the thugs shifted, placing a hand on the weapon at his waist. "You gave us a good run for our money looking for you, Ella."

I tensed at that, eyeing him carefully. "How do you know my name?" _Ells! No! You do not talk to the enemy!_

"Our boss is holding a tournament. He wants you to enter it." One of the thugs held out a piece of paper to me.

I started to reach for the paper, only to stop, hesitating. _Star? What should I do? Competing is more your thing than mine._

_I don't know Ells. Depends on what the competition is...where did they go!?_

I snapped my eyes off of the piece of paper, which was now in my own hands to see that Star was right. The strange thugs were gone. Shaking my head, I unfolded the paper and scanned the information that was on it. Alarm immediately shot through me. _Hey...Star? What is our power?_

_I don't know. I didn't realize that we were an elemental master. I thought that the Ninjas were the only ones._

I bit my bottom lip, even as Star suddenly started to laugh hysterically. _What's so funny?_

_Read the instructions..._

Puzzled, I reread the instructions to see what it was that was making her laugh...and bit back a small smile. Looks like I already broke one of the rules and had no choice but to break the next one. I shared the message with Star, and I was taking Star with me. Unless there was a way to separate the two of us...


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One: In Which We meet Ninja...

I pull my hood over the top of my head, scanning the crowded dock. There were a great many people there, some discussing things, clearly having already met...others were showing off their elemental powers. _So...we are going. You don't even know what our power is Ella! _I rolled my eyes skyward, carefully walking down the boardwalk. I spotted movement out of the corner of my eyes, causing me to tense and turn around to find myself...facing the ninjas themselves. My heart leapt into my throat at the sight of them, Sensei Garmadon discussing something with them. _What is Garmadon doing here? He isn't an elemental master last I checked!_

_Star...chill. He must of figured out about this and went to discuss it with his son. He's probably not happy about this... I mean no telling anyone what's going on? Smidgen strange if you get what I'm saying..._

_Ella. Calm down...your rambling._

_Sorry. _I turned my attention to the lone boat that was pulling up to a stop at the end of the dock we were meeting at. _Bet that's our ride. _Star stayed relatively silent, most likely deciding against bitterly reminding me that we had nothing to bet with. Slipping into the crowd unseen, I watched as a man stood up to greet us.

"My name is Clouse...second in command to Master Chen, your _gracious _host." Clouse spread his arms wide open, as if that would make him look less intimidating.

_Ella. You are literally the youngest one here. I don't like that at all. We need to leave now! _I was about to agree with her, when the crowd suddenly surged forward. If there was one thing you could count on me to do, it was how to blend into a crowd. And when the crowd was all headed the same direction, you can't slip away the opposite direction without getting noticed. Pulling my hood down even further, I silently follow them on board.

Clouse swung an arm out suddenly, stopping me in my tracks. Panic rose up, as I wondered what I was supposed to do. I had all of my belongings with me...since that was quite literally the clothes on my back and nothing else... maybe he was concerned that I didn't have a bag with me like the others did? "Are you lost child?"

Somehow Clouse being nice didn't seem right, not that I was going to tell him that. "No. I was invited as well. Wouldn't be here if I wasn't now, would I?" I allowed Star to slip in, taking control of what we said to him, my voice changing pitch so as to more closely to match hers.

Clouse started, fear flashing in his eyes. "Right. Sorry miss. Didn't mean to offend you." He dropped his hand to allow me passage.

I hurried past him, stepping up to Jay. I knew that he was the smallest ninja, and my hope was that if I stood next to him I wouldn't feel so small. No such luck, I barely made it to his elbow. _Seriously?_ I only got Star's giggling for a response. Traitor. Just then Garmadon walked up to me... a frown on his face as he literally looked down at me.

"What are you doing here child?" Genuine concern edged his voice, clearly once a father always a father.

"I'm one of the contestants..." I suddenly wondered if he would know what my power apparently was.

Garmadon scowled at that, shooting a glare at Clouse's back. "Of course you are." He muttered darkly under his breath. Turning his attention back to me, he raised his voice back to normal. "You mustn't trust anything that Chen and his minions tell you."

"Already figured that much out." I muttered under my breath, eyeing Clouse as well. "I don't want to sound like an idiot..."

"There is no such thing as a dumb question young one." Yep. I like this guy. Totally gets me and is actually concerned about my well-being. Perfect in my opinion, Lloyd is so lucky to have him.

"Right... um..." I glanced over at the ninjas, who were just standing there in mixture of two emotions, shock that they had to compete against a kid, and horror that this Chen person would invite me in the first place.

Garmadon cleared his throat, giving the ninja a very clear get out of here look. "How about you go and meet up with the other competitors while I speak with...sorry I didn't get your name?"

"Ella." I provided helpfully, shifting just slightly.

Garmadon nodded, and then glanced at the ninja. The four famous young adults murmured a see ya later to him, before disbanding. Turning back to me, he placed a hand gently on my shoulder. Not feeling any ill-intent coming from him, I allowed him to rest it there. "Now then...what is that you wanted to ask me?"

I glanced around to make double sure that no one was listening, before turning to face him. "What are my elemental powers? Last I checked I don't have any but according to the invite...apparently I do have something."

Garmadon froze, pain, horror, amazement, and shock flooding him all at once. "Impossible...Wu and I have managed to keep tabs all of the elemental masters...but a couple. I am sure that you are _not_ a descendant of Ashlynn... the only elements that aren't here are ice and water by the looks of things. I know where water is at... I dread the day Kai finds out about that one." Dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, he added a bit more to that. "Its Nya, his little sister. She hasn't discovered it yet though."

"I see...so who am I? You clearly know what my power is. Your emotions are a big indicator of that." I bluntly told him, rolling my eyes ever so nonchalantly, somehow sounding more like Star than myself.

Garmadon glanced at me, before shaking his head, unease slipping in. "Its not possible. He vowed that no one would... he never married and he made it clear that he had no intentions of choosing a new vessel, like the last master of ice did with Zane. I am sorry. Its not possible."

"Why would he say all that?"

"Because in a way...its the most dangerous one of all." He then walked off to rejoin the ninja, his increased worry for me tainting the air around me,leaving me alone once more with only Star and my thoughts.

_Well...that was informational. What could be so dangerous about us? Must be the fact that we have Split Personality Disorder? Or am I the only one that has noticed that for any of this to exist we need to have it?_

_Shut up Star. We have a problem...according to Garmadon, we really shouldn't exist. And I don't think he meant dangerous as when we're very powerful...I think he meant it a different way. But what exactly?_


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Exploration Planned Out...

I stayed to the back of the group as we disembarked at an island I didn't know existed. Star was silent, though I knew she was observing our competition very closely for me. We were ushered into a large throne room of some sort. A funny looking man was sitting on the throne, beaming at us as if he were pleased to see us. I wasn't fooled though. He was power hungry, and we were the ticket he needed to take over Ninjago. _Calm down Ella. You are letting your imagination to get carried away again. _Star spoke in my mind suddenly, soothing my fears.

The funny man waved his arms in a broad circle even as the doors banged shut behind us. "Welcome! I am your host, Master Chen! The rules of the tournament is simple enough...last one standing wins. For the first round, I have hidden these jade blades throughout the island." He held up something that was too long to be a knife, but too short to be a sword, which had a bright green blade. "When the bell chimes, I expect all of you to go search for one. Once you have one, bring it here to me. The one person who doesn't find a jade blade will be eliminated. Understood? Good. My servants here will see you to your rooms."

At that dismissal, an army of females that were wearing too much makeup and were dressed exactly alike came swarming forth, each one grabbing a guest and taking them elsewhere. I tensed as mine ushered me up the stairs. I didn't like the lack of emotions that they were broadcasting, sure that the others might find it uneasy as well. Most of the others were silently allowing the servants take them to their rooms, though the ninjas were protesting the whole separating them from each other thing. I bit my bottom lip as I noticed that they were also kicking Garmadon out, much to his anger and Lloyd's distress. I ducked into my room, quickly closing the door behind me.

My room apparently was designed after a five star motel. And I wasn't kidding either. A large gold chandelier, a large living room, a gigantic private bath (the tub was the size of an Olympic swimming pool) and a large bedroom with a walk in closet and an emperor sized bed. I also had a giant balcony. _Good. I don't like how fancy everything is in here._

I pushed the doors open, leaning against the polished marble railing. Star hadn't said anything about the room, not that she needed to. She was as shocked as I was. We were so used to not having any luxuries, that a large room given to us that was filled to the rim with luxuries was a bit too much. _Ella, look to your left. _Star spoke suddenly, startling me out of my thoughts. Confused about why she would want me to look to the left, she was pretty excited though, I'll give her that much, I turned to look at my left side...and nearly fell of the balcony out of shock. It was a jade blade, amongst a large rose bush that was in a pot on the balcony. The green of the leaves almost hide the blade, but with Star's artistic eye it was easily spotted. _Thanks Star_. _Now we just have to wait for the bell to chime._

Suddenly I found myself in a position that I wasn't familiar with. Having time on hand. Growing up, everything had been about survival, and responding to a constant sense of danger. By that, I mean constant running and avoiding people. I suspect that it had something to do with the house on fire where Star and I made first contact. Shaking my head, I glanced around to see if I couldn't find something interesting, even as I noticed a couple of emotions floating in the air. Uh... someone has a crush. And someone else is starting to get a crush. Might be fun to see how that'll work out. Just then, a bell chimed loudly, tearing my thoughts once again to the here and now.

Leaping to my feet, I grabbed the jade blade, my heart pounding loudly. _What do we do now?_

_Must I always be on top of things? Go straight out of our room. _I sprinted towards, the door, flinging it open easily. _Someone is over on the right...which blocks the direction we need to go... head left until you see a side set of stairs for the servants. _I ignored the way my sneakers thumped loudly against the floor as I ran down the hallway in the direction that she indicated. It wasn't long before we came across a closed door labeled servants only. Pushing it open, I slipped inside, allowing the door to close quietly behind me. Instead of running down the stairs, I leaned against the door and took a few deep breaths. Someone came running past, confusion rolling off of them in waves. I held my breath as I waited for them to leave. Once whoever it was left, I released my breath with a soft sigh.

_Hey? Star? How did you know about these stairs?_

_Lucky guess. Come on. We need to get to the throne room._

I turned and headed down the stairs, relaxing over their simplicity. _Throne room here I come. _

…

I was the first person back to the throne room. Master Chen raised his eyebrow upwards in surprise about that, but didn't say anything. He didn't need to. I knew he was annoyed it was me and not someone else. Which could only mean that this entire thing must be rigged so that only one person could win and he was expecting whoever that was and not me. _Or you are being paranoid. Could be he just wasn't expecting the youngest one here to make it first._

_Knock it off Star. Oh look. Someone else just joined us. _I openly stared at the pretty red head who strolled in carrying the second jade blade. When she noticed me, shock and surprise flashed across her features, right before she handed the blade to Master Chen. I looked away, watching as many others came in. It wasn't long until Kai and one other were the only ones that weren't back. Unease flooded the other ninjas as they stood near each other, whispering softly to each other. I tried not to eavesdropped, but years of not having been taught proper manners, meant that I threw common sense out the window.

"...Don't like this. He knows we can't loose anyone on the team. We've got to figure out if he is telling the truth about Zane and rescue him if he is!" Jay hissed anxiously.

I shifted slightly, not liking the fear and worry rolling off of them. Maybe I shouldn't hold them on a pedestal when it comes to the whole fear factor. Just then, the other guy walked in holding the jade blade. Even as the ninjas distressed appeared to double upon seeing that, his metal glove that he was wearing suddenly fell off, and Kai slipped out from behind him, neatly catching the jade blade before it could fall to the floor.

"Well then. We now know who it is that lost this round. Sorry Karlof. Time for you to go." I expected Master Chen to signal to some of his guards to escort him out to the ship...not push a button that caused a trap door to open underneath him. He fell down the hole in the ground, much to the distress of everyone in the room. Well, minus the red head, she didn't seem to care about that. However, I need noticed that the ninjas were not just distressed, they were horrified. And truth be told? I didn't blame them.

_I'm going exploring while you sleep. You were right. There is something going on here. _Star bluntly told me, leaving no room for argument. I decided against telling her to make sure she got enough sleep. _You sure that the ninjas won't go looking for information since that is kind of in their job description?_

_Like your not curious and worried at all. _

I didn't respond to that, glancing over at the ninjas. They had been speaking off Zane as if he were being held prisoner by this Master Chen, and somehow I suspected that he was blackmailing them into competing. Too bad he doesn't appear to have anticipated _us_.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: First Full Day at the Tournament...

I blinked slowly, shifting slightly on the uncomfortable couch that was set up in the living area of my room. I had been unable to sleep in the large emperor sized bed that was as soft as a cloud. Stretching backwards, I rolled the kinks out of my back, checking quickly to find that Star was still asleep. Well then...I'll just go downstairs and eat breakfast. Standing up, I quickly pulled my shoes on, having slept in my clothes. Walking across the room, I pushed open the door and slipped outside quietly. Now I just had to follow the cranky, half asleep and hungry haze to the kitchen...

….

Apparently it actually lead to a dining room that was set up like one of those school cafeterias that I would sometimes eat at when a truant officer would actually do their job. Grabbing a tray, I walked through the line, eyeing the food in mild surprise. Don't get me wrong, I have had non-rotten food before in my life...it just was a simple fact of that I didn't recognize anything that they were serving. Well, besides the fruit. Star and I can easily live off of fruit, it was one of the more easily acquired items growing up. Farmers always melted when they notice a starving child in the streets. Collecting the fruit, and a few of the other more interesting food items that actually looks good, I walked over and slipped into an empty booth near the ninjas.

"So what are we gonna do? Try and convince everyone that this is a trap?" Jay was muttering under his breath, frustration tinging his voice.

I blinked, even as Cole, who was terrified and doing a pretty good job at hiding this if it weren't for the haze around him broadcasting it for everyone to see. "I don't think they'll believe us...besides that, what about that girl that was spying on Chen? She left before we could question her!"

I nearly choked on a strawberry upon hearing that. They had seen Star...it was the only thing that makes sense! "What did she look like? Maybe she is one of the contestants?" Garmadon spoke calmly, concern and worry flooding him.

"Hmm...long blonde hair...by that I mean a sunny yellow color, no that's not right...gold! Yeah, that's right. Blonde hair that looked more like gold, it stopped at her midback... and really pretty blue eyes that seemed to almost sparkle, as if they were..."

"Made out of blue glitter." I whispered that even as Jay finally finished what he was rambling about. Yep...definitely had seen Star.

Garmadon shook his head, even as interest shone in his eyes. "Interesting...I don't know anyone that matches that particular description. However, the Masters of Form and Amber might... both of them can shape shift, though it is a bit differently with each. The Master of Amber can use all of the elements by touching the master of said element. The Master of Form is the one where she would get the shapeshifting power from. One of them might have been wearing a disguise last night when you ran into them."

_I'm awake! Ugh...long night. Also, I ran into the ninjas! Super cool... oh and the entire thing is a tr..._

_Trap? Yeah...I know. Funny how the ninjas went to bed about the same time you did, but they didn't sleep in._

_Sorry Ella. What's today game?_

I was about to inform her that I didn't know, when Clouse stepped forward, bringing with him a large board of sorts. "Attention everyone! From now on, you will be doing one on one duels amongst each other. The winner of each duel will continue on in the games. The loser will be disqualified."

_That answer your question?_

_How many people do you think will be an emotional mess by the end of this all and they all lose their powers?_

_Star!_ I stood up abruptly and walked over to check when I was to report to the stage. Hmm, either they really wanted to knock me out the competition now...or the master of gravity isn't that hard to win against. Of course that had to be when Star spoke next... _You are up first. Besides our self-defense class...do we even know how to fight?_

_Nope...should be interesting. _I walked out of the room, my mind reeling as we began to work out different battle strategies for this. The main one being for us to gray out and hope for the best...

….

We flipped down to the next branch, glaring at Gravis. _Seriously?_ _Who just floats up to the branch that they need to get to in order to win?_ And it wasn't a hurried float up either...he was rather smug and slowly floating his way up...he also was using his powers to make the blade float up as well. Years of practice from people, mainly criminals with the rest being bullies, doing that to a piece of food that we could enjoy and needed that they were just going to throw out anyways had us a bit on the prepared side for it. Crouching low, we counted down to three...and then leaped up, snagging the jade blade out of the thin air and crashing back to the ground. We nearly stumbled as our legs jarred from the impact, but we quickly straightened ourselves out...and closed our eyes as we took a deep, calming breath. When I opened my eyes, it was in time to see a heavy sandbag appear out of nowhere, knocking Gravis down into the trap door below. I winced at that, unease flooding me.

_Better him than you... we need to warn the ninjas about the spell!_

_Wait...what spell?_

I narrowed my eyes as I failed to recall Star mentioning something about a spell to me.

…..

That night, Cole and Jay were forced to fight each other. And well, let's just say that their emotion were all over the place! At first, there was the lingering hatred towards each other from some disagreement that they had months ago, then it disappeared and was replaced by comradery, a deep friendship that was designed to last through the worst of the worst. I knew that Cole was planning on throwing the competition when his resolve suddenly hardened, but his platonic love for Jay stayed the same.

"No...don't throw it Cole..." I whispered, forgetting that I was sitting right behind the other ninjas.

Lloyd snapped his head back to stare at me, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What do you mean by..." Loud cheering interrupted him as Cole handed Jay the jade blade, making him lose and fall through a trap door. "That. Cole!" Lloyd rejoined his father and friend, hurt and dismay flooding him.

I quietly slipped away, shoving my hands into my pockets. Cole threw it so that his best friend could continue on... and he most likely realized that Jay was determined to have it end in a draw so that they wouldn't lose another ninja so soon! Speaking of that... _Star? You still haven't told me about that spell...?_

_Later...once we have the ninjas trust and things. Right now w...you are a competitor. They won't trust us that easily._

I sighed, before collapsing on the couch, sleep immediately claiming me. _Sounds good._


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: In Which the Ninjas Make an unexpected Ally...

I followed the fight with Jacob Master of Sound and Skylor Master of Amber with my eyes, occasionally glancing over at the ninjas. You didn't need to know Kai personally to know that he had a crush on Skylor. And since I need to keep an eye out for the person that the competition was for...and she was the top suspect in my book, I just don't think that him having such an obvious crush on her is a good idea just yet. I flinched as Jacob missed Skylor… and the Jade Blade that they were looking for. _Wonderful._

_I know right? You think he'll realize he can use his powers to reflect the sound waves away from him before that happens. _Star whined at me.

I rolled my eyes at that, before responding back to her. _Or you can remember that its his powers...so he knows what he is doing._

_Was doing. Ooh, look. Chen is getting ready to make an announcement. _Star observed suddenly.

I glanced over to see that she was telling the truth. Chen stood up, calling all of our attention to him. "Competitors... I will have you know that thanks to some rule breaking going on here, that all of your rooms are being confiscated..."

"Yes!" I cheered loudly, relieved that I wouldn't be expected to sleep in that fancy prison tonight. Everyone turned to stare at me as if I were crazy. I slunk down in my seat, turning red faced as I yanked my hood up and over my head. Yeah... that wasn't embarrassing at all.

Chen slowly spoke, completely bewildered on why I apparently didn't like my room in the first place. "Right...you all will be sleeping on cots in the dining room. See you all later!" He then disappeared down on of his many secret passageways.

I rolled my eyes at his antics, before turning to the ninjas...and realizing that everyone was glaring at them with pure hatred. _Seriously? Didn't they realize that our so called rooms were just fancy cells? _I stood up and purposely walked past the ninjas, tapping Garmadon on the shoulder. Startled, he whipped around to stare at me. I smiled at him, before slipping Star's note that she had written for him the night before while I was asleep into his awaiting hand. Walking away, I slipped into the crowd, disappearing from view.

…..

It was Star's sudden yelp, and rushing back to the back of my mind, giving me all control that alerted me that something was wrong. Sitting up in the cot that we had claimed earlier, I rubbed my eyes as I glanced around the room. The ninjas were darting back into the beds, and pulling their covers up to make it appear as if they had been sleeping the entire time. I frowned, confused on why they were doing that...when the door swung open and Clouse turned the lights back on. "Rise and shine! Time for Master of Form versus the Green Ninja...oh and everyone else gets to pick which team that they are on. We're doing a Blade Race. Each team gets one Jade blade... first one to complete the race without their team leader, that would be Chamille and Lloyd mind you, losing the Jade Blade wins. The other one will be disqualified. The servants will help you put your skates on."

_Skates? We've never skated before! _Star whined, worry tinging her voice. I stifled a groan, before allowing one of the creepy ladies wearing too much makeup put the rollerblades on me. _Safe for me to presume that we'll be joining the obviously working undercover team? _I sarcastically asked her, already noting where the ninjas were at.

_Of course. Who else will we be teaming up with? _I love Star, have I ever mentioned that?

I stumbled and fell as I tried to get over to them, while everyone else moved away from them. Wow...rude much? I stopped next to Jay...and immediately fell flat on my face. Jay bent down, helping me back up on my feet. "Are you ok...oh, and the other team is that way." He pointed to the others, as if that made perfect sense that I wanted to be with them or something.

I shook my head as I tried to regain my balance. "Um, actually I'm teaming up with you guys." I slipped...as did Kai. Apparently I was not the only one that was unsure about these rollerblades. "Don't worry about me... I'm a fast learner." _Since there's two of me to observe and learn everything._ I silently added for Star to hear only.

Jay nodded, before sticking a hand out to help me stay in one place. "Right. My name is Jay...and well actually you probably already know who we all are. Uh...your Ella, right? You pulled Garmadon to the side on the way over here and asked him a question."

"Yeah that's me." I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, eyeing the doorway, already figuring out the whole balance thing. At least I wasn't fumbling around still, and Jay dropped his hand to his side. Kai on the other hand was still falling over frequently.

Jay whistled loudly, drawing the other ninjas attention to him. "Ella says she wants to join us." He gestured towards me, as if I needed an introduction.

I smiled tightly at them, a single word slipping out. "Hi."

"Oh good...we could use all the help we can get." Lloyd walked over, shaking my hand as if that was totally normal. "Kai's no good at this." Lloyd dropped his voice several decimals, as if sharing a deep secret with me. I giggled at that, glancing over at the ninja in question. Kai was mock pouting at what Lloyd had told me.

…...

I gasped as everyone more or less swapped over to our side when Neuro spoke up and confirmed what the ninjas said about the whole stealing our elemental powers thing. The only one that didn't change sides was Chamille, though I could tell that she would have done so if she wasn't the team captain. When we had skated over the finish line seconds after Chamille had done so, skating straight pass where she had purposely dropped her Jade Blade, what is up with everyone throwing the competition lately?, an argument ensued between Chen and the others. Finally Chen growled angrily as he punched the button. "Fine! Chamille loses! Lloyd is the winner...whoopie."

_Someone should call him out for his sarcasm._ Star suddenly spoke up, annoyance edging her voice.

_Star! I'm sure everyone noticed and it does not need to be pointed out. _I snapped at her, even as everyone crowded around the ninjas, demanding to know more about what they had discovered.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: In Which Ella and Star realizes something a smidgen strange...

I glanced around the room, squirming slightly as I fingered my napkin. I had stopped eating thirty minutes ago...and no one seemed to have noticed. My eyes darted back to Chen, who was eagerly calling a servant that was carrying a tray full to the brim with cookies over. _Mmm, cookies._

_Agreed...if only we weren't already full! You would think that with the both of us that we will eat a lot more than the others. _Star whined in my head, before pressing me to look at a funny dressed servant that was bugging Jay. At first I didn't get what was going on there to get her attention...then I realized that the servant was Nya, ally of the ninjas, in disguise. Smart. Picking my glass up, I took a small sip, shaking my head slightly as the servant with the tray began to offer me one. I really didn't need to be too full.

"Attention everyone!" Chen stood up, as he beamed at us. Oh boy... he was planning something. He was soo smug right now that it was just about toxic. "I know there are rumors going around that I am stealing the powers from those that are disqualified..."

"Don't listen to him... he's planning something." I hissed to no one in particular. "Also Jay? That is your ex that your trying to shoo away. Though I am sure that you two can work it out." I kicked Jay in the shin, making him squeak, before shooting Nya a glare.

Lloyd, who was sitting on my other side, leaned forward, a frown on his face. "How do you know that he is planning something?"

Garmadon muttered something under his breath, but I didn't catch it. I tilted my head to the side, puzzled about his question. "What do you mean by that? Can't you see how thick his smugness is? That usually is a sign that he is planning something."

"Wait...you can see his smugness!?" Lloyd gasped as he stared at me as if I had grown a second head.

I suddenly felt self-conscience as I tucked a loose strand of hair back. "Um...yes?"

Garmadon shook his head as he leaned over to mutter softly to us. "She is the master of the most dangerous element..."

"Isn't destruction your thing?" Kai hissed as nudged Nya with his foot by way of saying hi to her without drawing attention to her.

"No...I mean yes! Destruction is physically the most dangerous. However there is one element that is dangerous to the mind, heart, and emotional health of those that wield it and those that they target." He paused, glancing sideways at me. "The element of emotions. The last one was Estrello Emotican. After the First Serpentine War, he vanished into thin air...not before he promised to never pass the element down to the next generation. And yet...here you sit in the flesh." He smiled warmly, though worry clouded his warmth.

"Emotican…?" I frowned, a funny feeling slipping in. I had heard that name somewhere before...but where?

_~Flashback, Ten Years Earlier~_

_"Give up Emotican! We have you surrounded!" A deep angry voice sliced through the air suddenly, frightening me as I wiggled further under the thick royal purple comforter that I was trying to hide under._

_"Elisa! Get her out of here! It is too dangerous for a child!" I gasped as two long shadows were thrown across the wall in front of me. One was female while the other was male. The male held a long sword in his hand. _

_The female nodded once, and spoke, her voice firm. "I know that! Just be careful out there!" A moment later, a slender beautiful young woman with long blonde hair came rushing into the room. "Star? Ella? Where are you!?"_

~End of Flashback~

I shook visibly as I wondered what that was about. Garmadon gave me a worried look, even more worry flooding off of him in waves. "Are you alright Ella?"

"I'm fine." I stared down at my clasped hands, which were in my lap. Who were those people?

Cole moved suddenly, a frown crossing his features. "Nya's got a point though. Obviously one of us is a spy. We need to weed the spy out."

I frowned, my eyes flickering briefly towards Skylor, guilt was oozing all over the place on her, and she definitely felt bad for tricky the ninjas...well. She felt bad about tricking Kai.

"Ella? We're gonna hold a meeting down in my room after dinner. Can you be there?" Lloyd nudged me gently, glancing at me with pure worry.

"Yeah...sure thing. We should invite Skylor too." _That way she can spend even more time with Kai and swap loyalties!_

_Um...? Ella? You do hear yourself...right?_

_Go back to bed Star._

_Fine...be grumpy! And I agree with you that they will make for a super cute couple._

_Star! We are only thirteen years of age!_

Silence filled my head as she quickly retreated, leaving me alone and standing in my ridiculous room's doorway. Groaning, I walked over and collapsed onto the couch. I only had to stay here till the meeting happened. At least I can try to figure out a way to wrap around what my powers apparently were. And to think that I just thought everyone could read emotions! So much for what I know.

…

I leaned against a pillar, listening to the arguments that had popped up. Garmadon's reasoning about the tattoo at first seemed to be working...but now. Only two people were left to check, minus myself. Shade and Skylor… and I already have a good reason to believe it is Skylor, and she is starting to feel a certain way to a certain ninja. I was brought back to the present when a protest escaped Griffin.

"You haven't checked the kid yet!" He gestured towards me, a scowl on his face.

Jay frowned as he crossed his arms. "Ella has been helping us since the beginning. I highly doubt that she is a spy!"

I nodded my thanks to him. Before glancing back at him. "Besides that. I don't know why we're looking for the spy... they are reconsidering their life choices as we speak." I pointedly didn't look at Skylor, though she nearly overwhelmed me with her surprise that I knew that.

"Wait what?" The ninja gave me a weird look, while Garmadon slapped his forehead.

"Of course. You are clearly well-versed with how your powers work, and will be able to use them to figure out who the spy is." He gave me a look that bordered on _I am an idiot, _not sure how to explain to him that he isn't an idiot.

"Seriously!?" All of my remaining competitors and ninjas cried out, panic flaring inside of Skylor.

"Yeah...but I'm not telling who it is." I shrugged, a small smile crossing my features as I finally looked her in the eye. "Besides that. We can trust everyone here. I have no idea where Neuro got the idea that the spy was in here."

Murmurs of surprise filled the air, before someone noticed that Shade was slipping away. "Hey! Shade get back here!"

And the arguments were back... I rolled my eyes skyward as I waited for everyone to calm down. Only for Jay to yell something about getting Kai off of him. Startled, I looked back at the others to see that everyone had left and a giant sized portrait of Kai had fallen on top of Jay. I straightened up, a frown on my face. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah...fine. Whose the spy Ella?" Jay winced, frustration clouding his aura.

"I'm not telling you. You'll just act differently around her and her emotions hint that she is wavering." I glared at him, tapping into Star just enough to feel confident.

Jay gulped, before glancing over at Garmadon. Garmadon sighed as he shook his head. "I don't recommend we get on her bad side. One of her powers is to effect the emotions of others. Reason why Clouse appeared to be afraid of her when we first met. She injected fear into him."

"I didn't know I did that..." I blinked, surprise flashing through me.

"You need to go get your sleep, Ella. I'll walk you back to your room. I expect that you all will help place Jay's leg in a cast?" Garmadon shot a firm look in the direction of the others.

"Yes Sen...wait! You're not Sensei! Yes Garmadon." The ninjas fumbled over their words as they tried to call their mentor's brother what it was that they referred to their mentor as.

"Night guys." I waved at them before following Garmadon out of the room.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Amateur Detectives, Anyone?

I shifted in my seat, glancing around the blimp that we were all in at the moment. Garmadon was speaking with Lloyd about something, and everyone was still arguing. Well, Paleman was more flirting with Skylor than arguing with anyone person. _Star...I am soo bored right now._

_You're telling me. Let's wait and see along it will take everyone to realize that there is no pilot._

I stifled a snort, even as Neuro stood up and walked into the cockpit. A second later, he came running back out. "No one is flying this death trap!"

"You just now realized that?" I couldn't help but smugly asked him.

Everyone glared at me. Swallowing hard, I ducked my head to pretend to examine my nails. Not my fault that I noticed a lack of emotions coming from the cockpit! Jay coughed loudly, before hurriedly speaking up. "Well, Chen better contact us and let us know what the plan is soon."

**"Glad to see that you agree! Today instead of hunting Jadeblades, you all will be hunting a spy." **A large screen turned on just then, showing Chen's ugly face. It briefly flickered to a security camera to show Nya weaving her way through the jungle. **"The person to catch her will move onto the final round."**

I bit back a snort, even as Star tisked loudly in my mind. "Nya!" Fear flooded off of Kai, smothering me immediately.

Struggling to breath, I turned to him. "Need...to...calm... your...fear...too...strong..." I coughed loudly, nearly doubling over from the pain.

"Kai! Emotions appear as something tangible to her... too much of any one emotion can make breathing harder for her due to this." Garmadon hissed as he whacked Kai in the back of his head.

Kai took a deep breath, calming himself down. "Sorry... I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine. I should be used to it by now anyways... no one can control their emotions when they're that upset." I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with much needed air now that his fear wasn't so toxic to me.

Lloyd shook his head as he looked to me. "So...what I am hearing is that, your own element can kill you if you get overwhelmed with it?"

I nodded slowly, pressing a finger to my lips. "Yeah... old news to me. People aren't too careful with their emotions...don't know how to calm themselves down in the moment."

"Your parents must have been quite at adapt at removing you from such situations." Garmadon nodded thoughtfully.

I froze, mixed emotions surging through me. "Don't mention them!" Tears threatened to spill over, forcing me to turn my head quickly away from the others.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that everyone flinched away from me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized that I was probably forcing my anger out onto them. **"Oh dear... I didn't see you there Garmadon. I only have enough parachutes for the others. Oh well...the door should be opening right now. Have fun!" **Chen suddenly announced.

I snapped my head back to the others, even as the floor beneath us opened up. I could feel myself tense as I fell into the air below. Unopened parachutes fell all around us...and there was a mad grab for them going on. I noticed an extremely tall pine tree that was near me, and angled my body just right... reaching my hands out, I grabbed the topmost branch of the tree, swinging down onto the lower branch underneath it. _Ok Star... what is the plan?_

_Survive this and don't get caught. Maybe do some of the one thing that we can both agree on..._

I paused, eyeing the forest floor that was several stories below me. _A bit risky... but I'm sure that the others can handle Chen and his men. Besides that, this tournament thing isn't me and Chen probably knows something._

With that said, I climbed down the tree, ignoring the way the bark and needles scratched at my arms and legs. Reaching the bottom, I jumped off of the tree, landing in a crouched position. Chen's men said that it took them ages just to find me. Thinking things through...that will also mean that they don't realize what I do in my free time. And it ain't reading sappy romances.

…..

"Hey! You aren't supposed to be here!" One of Chen's men yelped as he turned the corner to find me about to enter Clouse's private quarters.

I paused, settling a glare in his direction. The result was instant. He burst into terrified tears, a wail of mommy escaping him before he ran off. _Hate it when the bad guys catch us. Start the countdown for when they'll get coherent enough to warn Chen or Clouse._

_On it Ella! _At least Star agreed with me on this.

Slipping into the room, I walked past a dozen or so bookshelves that were filled to the rim with spell books and other such things that were right on the boring side. Locating a seemingly random wall in the clear back of the room, I pressed my hand against it, quickly scanning it with my eyes. _Hmm... hidden safe? Whatever could Clouse be hiding from the ninjas that we don't already know? _My fingers poked and pulled at the wall, until the hidden compartment opened up, revealing the safe. Reaching a hand up to my hair, I pulled out a single bobby pin, which I promptly stuck into the keyhole. I wiggled it, even as I kept my senses open for any emotions alerting me to the presence of others.

Finally there was a familiar, satisfying click sound as the safe swung open, I hurriedly shoved it back into my hair at that welcome sight. _Wow... they seriously didn't looked into our backgrounds at all. Maybe we should let them know how often we've been kidnapped!_

_Ella... calm yourself. Wait...all this for some rusty old journal?_

I blinked quickly, looking down to see that she was right. There was only one item in there...and it was an old journal that was covered with dust. Picking it up, I was about to blow the dust off when an angry voice interrupted me. "What do you think you're doing!?" Spinning around, I spotted Clouse standing in my only way out, fury dancing in his eyes.

I glanced up at the ceiling, and quickly did some quick math questions... _Go for it Ella. Everything looks good. _"You guys really should have done your research before you invited me...also, see ya later slowpoke!" I then did two things, first I blew the dust off into his face, and secondly I leaped into the air, kicking the vent cover in as I swung myself into it. Grabbing the now dented air vent, I placed it over the opening, even though I knew it will only slow him down for a few seconds. If he could get himself up here that is.

Crawling through the vents, I glanced down at the journal. "Property of Estrello Emotican." I nearly froze, interest kicking in. "Here I was thinking that he was one of the good guys."

_I got that memo too. Besides that...I get the feeling that he wasn't exactly buddy buddy with Clouse to just give him the journal._

I nodded in agreement, before sticking it into my hoodie's pocket, that was the perfect size to keep it in. "Next stop... the dungeon! I really want to check on Cole and see if Zane can make anything out of this journal."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Annaliese Gemma Hawthorn the Greatest Actress of All Time...

I paused to listen to the conversation that was going on down below. It was mostly Cole questioning whether or not anyone had noticed that they were locked underground and thus, a rocket was a bad idea. _ You know...Cole has a good point...Wait! A large group of people are coming this way!_ Star warned me, her voice sharp at the sudden interjection.

I narrowed my eyes, peering through the slits of the vent cover to see the door open...and most of the competitors being shoved inside. As soon as the goons were gone, Zane and Cole popped up from where they were hiding. "Where's Lloyd? And the kid?" Cole questioned the others.

"Hey! I'm at least thirteen!" I yelled back at him, even as I popped open the vent and climbed down to join them.

Jay nodded as an outward sign of his impression on my avoiding getting caught. Neuro however stared at me as if I were nuts. "You still have your powers...and you came here?! You should have left, child."

I glared at him, my fingers curling tighter around the journal in my hand. "Ok two things. One, as I have already said I'm at least thirteen years of age. And two, my name isn't child, it's Ella." _And Star!_ I rolled my eyes, though I didn't tell them about her. Not yet anyways.

Zane frowned, peering over at me. "Isn't everything going on here too dangerous for someone your age to be here? And what is that you are holding in your hand?"

I glanced down at the journal, before walking over to Zane, handing the journal to him. "It is an old journal that I found in a secret room in Chen's private quarters. It belongs to another elemental master from the last generation."

"Estrello Emotican." Zane read out loud, carefully examining the old journal. "It appears to have been in a fire at some point..."

"Wait...fire?" _Did he just say fire? _I froze, my earliest memory fighting to get to my front of my mind.

"Yes...fire. Did you not see the scorch marks along the side? And how the edges of the pages have been crisped?" Zane pointed out the markings from the fire.

"We noticed...we just didn't registered that little detail." I grumbled to myself, even as Star began to mumble to herself about different ways that could happen.

"What do you mean by we?" Cole, Zane, Jay, and all of the elemental masters stared at me as if I were crazy.

I scratched the back of my neck nervously, taking a step back away from them. "Did I say we? I meant me..."

"Ok... we'll just ignore that. What does it say Zane?" Cole nodded to the journal now in the original nindroid's hands.

Zane cracked open the book, scanning on of the pages. "Interesting... everything is smudged except for a single name. Annaliese Gemma Haworn… I think that is what it says..."

"Annaliese Gemma Hawthorn!?" I squealed alongside all of the female elemental masters. To say that the boys stared at us as if we were crazy would be an understatement.

Tox clapped her hands together, a dreamy sigh escaping her. "She is the best female actress of all times! She stared in The Ninja Bride... Samurai Princess and the Thief... One Less Lonely Duchess... Eight Grooms for Eight Sisters..."

"Whoa there...those sound like chick flicks!" One of the guys complained as he waved his hands though the air.

I spoke up, a grin on my face. "That would be because they are. I haven't seen any of them of course... I only know about her because she was murdered years ago and no one has yet to solve the mystery."

"Should we be concerned..?" Zane whispered to Cole, clearly disturbed that I was so excited about that little detail.

…..

I pressed a hand against the wall, a frown crossing my features. Maybe the whole idea of a rocket ship was a good idea. "Ella! What are you doing over there?" Cole called out to me, worry creasing his brow.

"Someone is on the otherside of this wall. By the way their emotions are flaring... I say that they are being held against their will. We can use the rocket to break the wall down to rescue them." I paused, allowing the sense of fear that was rolling over from the room next door to smother me. "Uh...I also think we need to do so _now_. Something big is moving around in there with them."

No sooner than I had said that, than Karlof started the rocket ship...which one of the guards discovered. I quickly scrambled onto the rocket ship, followed closely by the rest of the elemental masters. "Aim for the wall!" Jay demanded as he pointed to the wall that I had just left.

The rocket roared to life...right before it crashed into the wall shattering it. The wall, not the rocket. As I coughed at the dust filled air, I waved my hand trying to clear it up. Glancing down, I was surprised to see Nya and Garmadon chained to two poles, a now dead giant snake by their sides. "Talk about timing! That thing was about to eat Garmadon!" Nya blurted out, relief surging forward in great waves.

"Thank me later! Let's go!" "Where's Kai?"

Eesh, maybe someone should have warned me that Cole has a one way mind... Nya scowled, anger flashing in her eyes. "He betrayed us. When I get my hands on him..."

"What!?" I whirled around to stare at her as if she were insane. "No! Skylor was supposed to betray Chen! Her emotions said so!"

"Ella!" Everyone yelled at me out of shock, turning to stare at me as if I were the crazy one.

Nya gave me a weird look, before titling her head. "Who are you?"

"Ella, Master of Emotions." I stuck my hand out to shake her hand.

"We need to get out of here and save Lloyd! Chen is planning on draining him of his powers any minute now." Garmadon informed us, even as he climbed up onto the rocket.

"Forward!" Dareth yelled, causing sniggers to escape the rest of the escapees.

…..

I rubbed my forehead with my left hand, wishing that everyone would just chill out enough that I could... "Ella! The battle's over with. You can breath better now, right?" Kai was kneeling in front of me, worry creasing his brow.

Skylor had disappeared, though I could still follow traces of her fear through one of Chen's many tunnels. "I was right... Skylor betrayed Chen! And now he has her... I'm sorry." I hung my head in shame, even as Star began to protest that wasn't my fault at all.

"Not your fault." Cole stepped behind Kai, his emotions making what he was planning very clear. "We should have realized that emotions ran high during battles and held you back instead of letting you fight." Reaching a hand over, he smacked Kai in the back of the head hard.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

Cole crossed his arms as he glared at his red clad friend. "What do you think? For tricking everyone into thinking that you swapped sides!"

"Can we not fight...and I could have warned you that he was going to do that." I timidly spoke up, rubbing my forearms now.

"Ella!"


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: My Mother is Who Now?!

I knelt down in the hard earth, pressing my fingers against the ground. The trail that Skylor had left us was starting to go cold. "What are you doing?" Shade popped out of nowhere, his arms crossed across his chest.

I rolled my eyes as I brushed some of the dirt off of my pants. "What do you think? Emotions are tangible to me. And like with footprints and scents, they can leave a trail. Of course the older the trail, the colder it gets." I gestured to the tunnel that I was examining, hoping he would catch my drift.

Shade's eyes widened in surprise as he looked between me and the tunnel. "You saying that you can track Skylor down using her emotions?"

"Yes and no. They're fading fast and I get the feeling that certain people will prefer it if I talked to them before wandering off on my own." I wrinkled my nose, the idea to seek permission before doing anything being a foreign idea to me.

Shade tilted his head as he peered down the tunnel. "What if I come with you? At least till my shift starts up? That way you won't be alone?"

I slowly nodded, liking the sound of that. "Yeah...that sounds like a plan that Lloyd and friends will get behind."

"You know that it isn't just them, right? You're the youngest one here." I chose to ignore that comment, already standing up and following the fading trail.

….

"Ella, I've got to get back. Stay right there, and I'll send someone up to continue on with you." Shade placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping my forward motion.

I glanced back at the rapidly growing cold trail, before looking at him. "The trail is going cold. They have to be up here within... I don't think Griffin is fast enough."

"Stay put." Shade left, disappearing from view.

I stayed still for the longest time, staring after him as I wondered if anyone was aware of the fact that I was perfectly capable of tracking down Skylor by myself. _Ella! Come on! The trail is getting cold! At this rate, we'll never find her!_

_On it Star!_ I shook my head, before continuing forward, determined to find the missing elemental master.

….

_I didn't just yelp!_

_Sure...whatever helps you sleep at night._ I scowled at Star as I reached up and attempted to push the hand covering my mouth off. I didn't need her to cover my mouth. I can sense the anger rolling off of the cultists over her escape! "Skylor… you can let go now..." I ignored how muffled my voice was, sure that she was using Neuro's power to read my mind to know what it is that I am trying to say to her.

I felt Skylor shake her head as she moved deeper into the thick undergrowth. After several minutes passed with her hand clamped firmly over my mouth as she held me hostage, she finally released me and stepped to the side so that I could actually see her. "Sorry about that Ella. But Father only needs us two to complete the spell." Ah. That made sense. She didn't have my elemental power...yet. "I don't want your elemental power. Not with how dangerous it is."

I shot her a look. "Can you please stay out of my head?"

"I didn't read your mind. You were speaking out loud." Skylor moved to peer out of our hiding spot. "I believe the coast is clear. Let's go. I already contacted Neuro for help. Hopefully he will alert Kai...and the others." She hurriedly tried to hide the fact that she had a mega crush on the red ninja.

"You do know that as the master of emotions, that I can see that you have feelings with Kai and I can confirm that he feels the same way." I drily pointed out to her, before inching my way out of our hiding spot. "Let's get moving. It'll be harder for the cultists to find us if we keep on the move."

"Wouldn't that make it harder for Kai and the others to find us?" Skylor questioned my sanity.

I paused, licking my finger before sticking it in the air. "Hmm, wind is blowing nicely. And by the direction that it is blowing towards us...as in away from the others."

"So?"

"So... that means that it is blowing Kai's fear for your safety right to me. We can follow it to him." I shrugged, not seeing it as a big deal.

"Kai's worried about me? That is so sweet!" Skylor squealed, clapping her hands together with excitement.

I rolled my eyes as I led the way to him. "Really? Cause if I were in your shoes I would be extremely annoyed."

Skylor shot me a look. "Ella, one day when your older, you'll understand how much you need a guy in your life."

"Yeah...no. Not gonna happen." _You sure about that? Having a nice strong guy on our side would be helpful..._

_Star!_

I quickly glanced at Skylor to see if she had noticed that little conversation. She was concentrating on covering our tracks up using a variety of powers that she had absorbed. Good... I don't want to know what anyone will say if they ever find out about Star.

….

"Ella? Are you ok there?" Kai placed a hand on my shoulder, concern flooding off of him as his eyes glistened with it.

I shook my head, trying to dispense of the buzzing in the back of my head. "I don't feel too good..." Everything went dark as I fainted, vaguely aware of Skylor and Kai lunging forward to catch me.

…..

Groaning, I decided that waking up with a mega headache wasn't any fun at all. _You telling me. What even happened? _Star interjected, her voice groggy.

_I have no idea. Looks like we're chained to some rock though. _I scanned my surroundings, spotting Kai chained to another rock nearby, and a snake that I sensed was Skylor was chained to the same rock as me. "What did I miss?"

Chen grinned wickedly as he lifted up his hand...his scaly purple hand. "I have your powers. I am the Anacondrai now!"

Nope. Not happening. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. _Star? Do you feel any different...besides our fainting spell?_

_Hmm, not really. I still don't see how we fainted. It was so weird!_

I glanced around, already straining to break out of my bonds. "Come on! You can't possibly want to keep me here!" Pausing, I rethought that statement. "Actually, this cave is very beautiful. I wouldn't mind sleeping here for the night."

"Since when does the daughter of Annaliese Gemma Hawthorn sleep in caves?" Chen gave me a weird look, clearly puzzled by my fascination with the cave.

I felt all color drain from my face as I stared at him. Suddenly the fancy room he gave me made total sense... my mother was the murdered actress that still hadn't received any justice for what happened to her! But then, how did I end up on the streets? Chen shook his head, before ordering his men to leave; just as Kai broke free and attacked him. Skylor eventually broke out of her chains and helped Kai, saving him from her father. I glared at them until they remembered to come help me out.

…...

"This is just perfect. You all know that you're flying in the wrong direction, right?" I sniggered as I lifted a hand up, pointing to the distant collection of emotions on the horizon.

Zane blinked as he glanced back at me. I was riding with him for this trip, since I still can't summon a dragon. Skylor reckons that it's because I didn't know anything about my parentage, and was quite content on not knowing. And then Chen dropped that bombshell on me. "Are you sure that Ninjago is that way?"

"The fact that we're flying further away from any sources of emotions and not towards it means we're headed the wrong way." I drily pointed out.

"Everyone! Turn around! We're headed the wrong way!"

"Seriously!?"


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: One Sort of Estranged Uncle Recruited...Check!

I rubbed my forearm, watching as everyone rushed ether thither, trying to locate Chen and his army. _ We should be helping. I mean, we still have a small portion of our power, unlike the others! _ I frowned at that, realizing that Star had a point... turning, I quickly faced Skylor. "I can still sense emotions. From what you and Kai said, Chen took all of my powers. So why can I still sense emotions?"

Wu snapped his head up, his gaze latching onto mine. "Ella, can you still broadcast, change, the emotions of others?"

I shook my head, puzzled my that question. "No. At least, I don't think so... Star probably knows better than me. She's the one that typically does that." Everyone gave me a weird look at that statement. Right. No one knows about that little detail. _ Star? Can we still change the emotions of others?_

_No. We can sense them, but we can't affect them._

I frowned at that, now even more confused than before. "I don't get it. Star says we can't do that anymore."

Wu shook his head, confusion evident. "None of the past Masters of Emotion could communicate with their other selves. How do you do it?"

Kai piped up, worry edging his voice. "Is that what Garmadon meant when he mentioned something about the element being dangerous?"

Garmadon spoke up from where he stood behind his wife. "Yes."

I lifted my right shoulder partially up in a half shrug, not sure what to say about that. "I don't know. I think Star contacted me first." _Star?_

_It was me Ells. Remember? I told you to move._

I nodded, before turning back to the others. "Yeah, she contacted me first. Three year olds don't have the common sense that if there is an out of control fire next to them that they need to move. Star did though."

Jay gave a nervous laugh, before picking up a random mug. "So, are we going to go interrogate Pythor on how to defeat an army of Anacondrai, or not?"

"Let's go. Ella, you stay here. Got it?" Lloyd looked pointedly at me, as if he were concerned for my well-being.

I opted to roll my eyes and nod in understanding to him. While having Star cross her fingers behind her back. Got to love sisters that no one can see. I mean, with my hands resting on the table in plain sight, it was obvious that I wasn't doing anything to indicate that I was not going to stay put. We watched them go, somehow managing to keep our emotions down so that no one would notice the small fact that we were planning something. As soon as the door snapped shut behind them, Star sighed loudly. _Finally. Was beginning to think that they were never going to leave._

"I don't see why we can't tell them about him. He's a friend." I pointed out, taking advantage of being the only there to speak out loud to Star.

Star scoffed, making her feelings on the matter very obvious. _Reluctant friend. He only helps us because we saved his life that one time._

I shook my head at her disdain, already darting out the door, pausing only long enough to retrieve the old journal that I had found what felt like ages ago when in reality it was just the other day. So much can happen in a short period of time. Striding out the door, I angled away from everyone else, even as Star began to buzz with excitement. It wasn't often that I would let her take over in broad daylight...

~Star's POV, about two hours later~

I couldn't believe how far the Samurai X cave was to the office. Shaking my head at that little detail, I pushed the door to the government building open, ignoring the startled receptionist to head straight to the back offices. I stepped up to a one that had a beat up sign that labeled it as belonging to a Ryder Hawthorn. Lifting my hand up, I quickly knocked on the door, drawing the occupants attention.

The short, he was only five feet and four inches, man inside looked up, quickly standing upon noticing it was me in the doorway. His blonde hair was by now streaked with gray, and his grey eyes had dark circles underneath them. "Star! Come on in...how's Ella doing?"

I slipped into the room, I used to wonder how he knew about her without me mentioning her...but Chen gave us that answer without knowing he was doing so. "She's resting right now. We had a very exciting past few days."

"Oh?" Ryder leaned against his worn oak desk, one eyebrow shooting upwards.

"Yeah." I looked him over, before holding out the old journal to him. "Do you recognize this?"

Wonder filled him as he stared, stunned, at the old journal. "I haven't seen that in... where did you and your sister find that?" Ryder shook his head, forcing himself into the present.

"Chen had it." Upon noticing, and sensing, his confusion, I expounded on that. "He's a war lord that will be declaring a siege on Ninjago any minute now."

Ryder gave me a shock look, bewilderment edging his voice. "How do you know that?"

"The fact that he left to conquer Ninjago yesterday and he hasn't yet." I took a deep breath, bracing myself to do the one thing that Ella and I agreed needed to be done after finding out who our mother was. "Why didn't you tell me that your my uncle?"

Ryder looked at her for five seconds, before sinking back down in his seat. "Honestly? With my line of work, I can't have any connections to the limelight. Too dangerous for everyone close to me. Your mother, my darling sister, understood this and went to great lengths to make sure that no one could trace her back to me. When we first met...telling you what my relation to her just made sense due to the fact that you could tell I was more affected by her death than her entire fan base. I got used to being the guy in the background that everyone knows exists but doesn't know the name of. Keeping it from you two made sense once I realized that you didn't remember who she was to you."

I shook my head, though I noticed a little odd thing about what he was saying. "Wait... why are you talking as if Ella and I are different people?"

Ryder gave me a weird look...only to jump as a shout filled the office building. "An Anacondrai Army is taking over Jamankai Village!"

Ryder's eyes widened, even as he shoved the open files that he had been going over before I entered his office into a briefcase. "We need to get out of here Star. If any of the stories about Anacondrai are true then we're not safe here. Where's Ella?"

I felt my mouth go dry at that question, alarm flashing through me. "That army would be Chen and his army, he used a spell to turn them into Anacondrai... as for Ella..."


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: The Truth Comes Out...

Ryder opened and closed his mouth multiple times as I took over for Star. "Surprise?" I gave my arms a little wave, forcing a smile onto my features. Unfortunately, Ryder was still in shock over this old, new to him, detail. "Uncle Ryder? We really need to get going." I reached out one hand to grab him by the arm, already moving to get past the stream of people.

Ryder shook his head quickly, before mumbling to himself. "I knew he had multiple split-personalities...but I've never seen anything like this before!"

"Uncle Ryder! We have to go!"

…...

"Ella! There you are... I thought we told you to stay here?" Cole just about pounced on me as I finally arrived at the Ninja HQ.

I opened my mouth to explain to him the whole had to fetch my uncle thing, when Ryder stepped forward, reaching a hand out to shake. "Ryder Hawthorn, top P.I. in all of Ninjago."

Kai scoffed, rolling his eyes skyward, "So you're overly-confident..."

"Actually, he has won more rewards for his work than most of his colleagues, and he has solved all but one of the mysteries he goes out to find." I cut in, feeling as if I should defend Ryder.

"Oh..." Kai took a step back, startled to learn that his confidence was not misplaced.

Nya smiled, though I couldn't help but notice that she was rather upset over something, her voice forcibly light. "It's nice to meet you Ryder."

Zane smiled warmly, his pleasure to meeting Ryder was not forced like the others...maybe I should remind them that I can sense their emotions, his voice was monotone though. "What is this one mystery you haven't solved?"

Ryder's smile faltered, a wave of sadness nearly suffocating me. "Oh...that one. My sister was murdered. I haven't been able to find who did it though."

"Was she married? Perhaps a disagreement between her and her partner..."

"No." Ryder took a deep breath, trying his hardest to control his feelings so as not to cause me any problems, very considerate of him. "She _was _married, however her husband was murdered with her."

"That's horrible!" Jay blurted out from where he was standing next to Griffin.

That was when I realized that I was the last one there. Even the mailman beat me! Wait... "Why is the mailman here?"

"You, missy, are really late. All of Ninjago is going to head up to the Corridor of Elders, to help us drive Chen and his men off." Garmadon clapped a hand on my shoulder.

"Really? Then what are we waiting for?" I perked up at that,Yes! Yes! Yes!, already getting infested by Star's excitement.

"Really. Let's go." Sensei Wu gestured for everyone to head out, pointedly not looking at Garmadon.

I stifled a groan as I looked between the two brothers, and Misako. "Do I need to remind you guys that I can sense emotions? What's going on between you three? You're family! You shouldn't fight between yourselves."

Misako groaned, even as Ryder burst out laughing. She shook her head, one eyebrow shooting upwards. "It's impossible to hide things from you, isn't?"

"Well..."

"You should have seen her at her second birthday party. She _asked _if everyone was sad because her grandfather passed away earlier that same month." Ryder paused, shooting her a mirthful look. "The funny thing was, everyone was putting on an act of pure happiness and joy for her benefit. Just about gave my sister an heart attack when she asked _that_."

I gave him a withering look, even as a single question popped up in my thoughts. "What did you get me that year, Uncle Ryder?"

"Wait..._uncle_!?" "Oh, a little locket that had Dad's picture in it."

….

I pressed a hand against my mouth, fighting the urge to cough. The air here was thick with emotions, too thick with emotions. Really, I'm just useless when it comes to these things! Shaking my head in a poor attempt to clear it, I took a step back, only to lose my balance and nearly tipped over. Ryder, who was sticking pretty close to me probably because of the emotions everyone was polluting the air with, arms darted forward, wrapping them around me rather firmly. I nodded briefly to him, before closing my eyes and asking Star a quick question. _I do better with emotions like this when we combine together._

_Got that right! Come on..._

We opened our eyes to see that the battle was going down hill. Moving quickly, we flipped over two Anacondrai soldiers, grabbing and flipping them as we did so. Their yelps of surprise was purely beautiful. Moving quickly, we continued battling the fake Anacondrai, when we spotted a familiar rat that we were so sure that we had lost ages ago. "Styles!"

A miniature Pythor that was riding the albino rat blinked rabidly, lifting one eyebrow up in surprise. "Styles? I thought his name was Rodrigo! And why does your voice sound like two people talking in unison?"

Ignoring him, We picked both of them up and rushed over to where Lloyd was fighting. "Lloyd! Pythor has an idea on how to win against these guys!"

Lloyd nearly fell backwards, having not realized that we had combined together, or approached him. "Ella!"

….

I stood in front of Ryder, silently watching the Ghosts of the Anacondrai Generals take Chen and his men to the Cursed Realm, a Realm that Garmadon was now a permanent resident of. One of the generals, Arcturus by the looks of things, approached us, eyeing me curiously. "Interesssting… children ssso young, and yet cursssed to share a body and mind. Perhapssss I ssshould fix that..." He pointed a ghostly finger at me...and then everything went dark...

When I came to, the first thing that I noticed was the fact that Star wasn't asking me if I was okay. Not only that, but I was below deck on one of the ninja's bed. Might have been Nya's though since it appeared to only have the one bed in it. Pushing myself up onto my elbows, I looked around the room silently, before reaching out to ask Star if she was alright. _Star? You okay there? _Silence met me as Star didn't respond. Now _really_ worried, I sprang out of the bed and rushed out the door. Following Ryder's emotion scent, as well as the Ninjas, elemental masters, their allies, and one other that I didn't recognize, I made a beeline to a large room that appeared to be the ship's bridge.

Scanning the room, I gave a small nod to Ryder...only to freeze upon realizing that Star was standing _next _to him. "Star!?"

"Hey Ella..." Star flashed a nervous smile, her brilliant blue eyes latching onto my gray ones. "To be fair, I fainted too when Arcturus separated us."

Ryder shook his head, reaching a hand out, to pull me closer to him. "I don't know how you two got stuck like that, but I am glad that I can have both of my nieces back and not one or the other... that was just plain weird."

Star burst out laughing, before turning to face him. "Hey, Uncle Ryder? Exactly how old are we?"

Ryder hummed, sipping carefully at a water bottle that he was holding. "Hmm, you're both sixteen. Elisa had twins. If memory serves correctly, Ella was born first."

"What!? I thought I was older!" "Wait... I'm older than her? But I'm the short one!"

**_The End!_**


End file.
